The structure of EDN consists of three service providers. Loan and Political Risk Insurance Originators (Originators) serve as local service providers to micro, small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) to help develop the OPIC application package, refine marketing strategies, and draft or enhance business plans. Financial institutions serve as Designated Lenders to establish OPIC-backed lending facilities that are used to make loans to MSMEs or their affiliates for projects in OPIC-eligible countries. EDN Advisers are specialists in particular business sectors and geographic areas throughout the world and assist OPIC in credit underwriting and due diligence on OPIC-funded loans.

J. Michael Cline is the founding Partner of Accretive LLC. Michael and other Accretive principals founded Exult, Xchanging, Fandango and Accretive Health. Before founding Accretive Michael spent 10 years as General
Partner at General Atlantic Partners helping build General Atlantic into the world's largest private investment firm focused on software and related investments. Prior to General Atlantic, Michael was an associate at McKinsey &
Company. Michael received his MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar and he received a BS from Cornell University. He serves on the boards of Accretive Commerce, Fandango, Accretive Health and Willow. He is a Trustee
of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) where he chairs the Tigers Forever initiative - the world's largest effort in global tiger conservation and is a Trustee of the Brunswick School. He also serves on the board of the National Fish
and Wildlife Foundation, Endeavor Global and the Harvard Business School Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.

William Sahlman is the Dimitri V. d'Arbeloff - Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. The d'Arbeloff Chair was established in 1986 to support teaching and research on the
entrepreneurial process. The Chair honors the late Dimitri d'Arbeloff (HBS '55), whose entrepreneurial skills helped make Millipore Corporation a world leader in its industry. Mr. Sahlman received an A.B. degree in Economics from Princeton
University, an M.B.A. from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Business Economics, also from Harvard. His research focuses on the investment and financing decisions made in entrepreneurial ventures at all stages in their development. Mr.
Sahlman was co-chair of the Entrepreneurship and Service Management Unit from 1999 to 2002. From 1991 to 1999, he was Senior Associate Dean, Director of Publishing Activities, and chairman of the board for Harvard Business School
Publishing Corporation. From 1990 to 1991, he was chairman of the Harvard University Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility. He is a member of the board of directors of several private companies.

Can you guess where the follow startups were founded-- GameStop, Woot, Words with Friends, SOFTLAYER? Probably Silicon Valley, right? No. How about Boston? Wrong again. I'll give you a hint: it's the fourth largest media market in the country, home to 18 Fortune 500 companies and boasts two major airports, serving as headquarters for two major airlines. Sounds like a pretty good place to start a company, right? Dallas, and the surrounding area called the "Metroplex", sure thinks so and it wants you to start thinking so as well. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the emerging startup scene in Dallas. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found here.

Last night I had the privilege of watching the first ever Get in the Ring Competition in the United States. Though this competition is in its sixth year, this was the first year that the United States had participated. The process began in August with groups of judges sorting through about 300 applications from startups all across the country. After several rounds of judging, the final eight startups were invited to Kansas City to participate in the U.S. version of Get in the Ring, the American Startup Clash.

President Obama bet his legacy and the nation on the creativity, energy and drive of the American people. His entire persona is that of a man bent on creating a better future, placing the long and short bets that will insure the US remains the most vital and creative nation in the history of the world. His faith in American ingenuity and the abilities of the people to innovate and create fill every speech he makes. In particular four areas are the focus of his belief that Americans can lead the world into a brighter tomorrow; clean energy, communications, medicinal technology and space development.

Be it encouraging the development of a US clean energy industry, supporting our amazing internet and communications entrepreneurs, developing new ways to save lives and make Americans healthier at lower cost, or catalyzing a vital new commercial space industry to follow in NASA's footsteps and open the frontier to the people, in each of these areas the president is pursuing initiatives that are transformative.

Elizabeth Holmes, President, CEO, and Founder of Theranos, discusses her decision to leave Stanford to launch a biotech company, and what she's learned about raising capital and attracting top talent. Holmes allows the audience to pose numerous inquiries, and she discusses her personal conviction, development process, and path of entrepreneurship.

A network of U.S. cities facilitating a weekly entrepreneur education program. Go to 1 Million Cups >

Whether you are starting or growing a company, FastTrac will help you live your dream at each stage.Go to FastTrac >

Email Newsletters

Want to be up-to-date with the latest news and updates from Entrepreneurship.org? To subscribe, just give us your email address below; you'll choose which e-newsletters you'd like to receive on the next screen.

Email Newsletter Sign-up Form

Enter your Email Address:Submit

Socialize With Us

Choose your favorite social media channels to keep up with the latest activity on Entrepreneurship.org.